Jeongyeon looked at the clock. Nine pm. It’d been a long day filled with shoots and interviews for her alongside the rest of the members, everyone now taking the time to do their own thing to relax. Jeongyeon had settled for something simple, playing a mobile game on her phone. She decided to hang out in the lounge area, not necessarily because she wanted to hang out with any of the members but the light hum of quiet chatter and the tv playing in the background was more comfortable to her rather than being alone in her room, surrounded by silence.

 

Jeongyeon looked up from her phone, eyes needing a break from all the vibrant colours on her screen. She briefly looked around the room, curious as to what the other 8 girls were doing.

 

Nayeon had on a sheet mask and was occasionally chiming into Jihyo and Mina’s conversation about different types of skincare whilst Momo and Sana were cuddled up watching Netflix. Dahyun and Chaeyoung weren’t downstairs so Jeongyeon assumed they were upstairs.

 

Everyone seemed content except for one person. Tzuyu.

 

The tall girl was sat on her own on the far end of the couch. She’d pulled her knees in towards her chest, head resting on them. Her brown locks hid her face which made the older girl worry. Was she sick? Had she been feeling like this all day and Jeongyeon hadn’t noticed?

 

Switching off her phone and setting it to one side, Jeongyeon crawled to wear Tzuyu was. She gently placed her hand on her back, using the other to brush some hair out of her face.

 

“Hey Tzu…are you okay?” Tzuyu nodded, telling Jeongyeon that she was despite her face saying the complete opposite. “Are you sure? I know today was pretty busy, are you tired?”

 

“I don’t know, I probably am, I’m fine unnie I promise” Before she could press further, Tzuyu stood from her place on the couch and hurriedly made her way upstairs. Confused and now slightly more concerned than she was before, Jeongyeon followed the maknae upstairs.

 

Dahyun and Chaeyoung were occupying their room, the sounds of laughter and squealing coming through muffled through the door. Tzuyu pouted, turning to the bathroom instead. She stepped in and shut the door behind her, sliding down it until she hit the floor.

 

Moments after she heard a knock on the door. It was Jeongyeon. 

 

“Tzuyu-ah? Can you let me in? I want to check that you’re okay”

 

“I’m fine unnie, you can go back to relaxing…”

 

“Tzuyu…I know you’re not, just please? Can I come in?”

 

There was a moment of silence before the door slowly opened, Tzuyu allowing Jeongyeon to step into the bathroom with her. The older girl gently shut the door behind her, looking at Tzuyu. The two stood there in silence for awhile, Tzuyu looking at anything but Jeongyeon and Jeongyeon staring at the younger girl with worry filled eyes.

 

“I…I don’t wanna be an idol anymore”

 

Jeongyeon’s eyes widened, lips parting in shock. Out of all the things she thought Tzuyu was thinking, it definitely wasn’t that. She could see Tzuyu was gripping her shirt tightly and trembling slightly, a sign that she was having trouble keeping her emotional state together.

 

Stepping away from the door, Jeongyeon wrapped her arms around Tzuyu. She quickly responded to her hug, holding onto Jeongyeon tightly and burying herself into her neck. Tzuyu began to cry softly, so soft you could barely hear it, even though she was already crying she still wanted to hold herself together, not wanting anyone but Jeongyeon to hear her cries.

 

The older girl let her cry as much as she needed, rubbing her back and whispering words of reassurance whenever her cries got harder.

 

It took a few minutes for Tzuyu’s cries to turn into sniffles and for her to completely calm down.

 

“Why..don’t you wanna be an idol anymore, Tzu? What happened?” Jeongyeon asked. 

 

“The cameras…I just…I can’t anymore and…and…they’re too close, it’s too much, I don’t want them to film me anymore…I can’t be perfect and they’re always watching me” 

 

Jeongyeon’s heart softened upon hearing what Tzuyu had to say. It was true that today they had been filming and shooting a lot earlier. Jeongyeon figured Tzuyu was referring to the photoshoot they’d done earlier that day. Their usual camerawoman was ill so a substitute had been hired and she was particularly harsh, especially to Tzuyu. She was very critical of everyone and how they posed, Jeongyeon chalked it up to her wanting good results but she couldn’t lie that even some of the comments directed at her particularly stung.

 

She’d wanted to check in on the maknae after the shoot but everything was just so busy and hectic and they were already being ushered into the car and driven off to their next stop that Jeongyeon had no time to. In hindsight she wished she had asked to be in the same car as Tzuyu.

 

“It was that camerawoman wasn’t it?” Tzuyu nodded sadly. “I thought so…don’t listen to anything she said Tzuyu, it’s not true at all and she shouldn’t have said the things she did, it was really unprofessional on her end. You’re stunning just the way you are and we all love you for it. Twice and ONCE”. 

 

“Thank you Jeongyeon unnie”

 

“I know the cameras can get to you sometimes, it gets to all of us but at the end of the day we’ll always be there to comfort each other, right? Whether its at the dorm, some hotel room or… a bathroom” Tzuyu giggled and nodded, Jeongyeon relieved to hear a giggle instead of a cry.

 

“What should I do if a camera is making me feel uncomfortable?” Tzuyu asked

 

‘’Tell me, or any other member, I’ll relay to them how you’ve been feeling. I’m sure they’ll instantly become protective over you” Jeongyeon chuckled. Tzuyu nodded, feeling a lot better knowing she had the protection of her members.

 

The two stood there holding each other for awhile. Tzuyu perfectly comfortable and content in Jeongyeon’s embrace. 

 

“Ready to leave? We can’t stay in here all night” Jeongyeon joked, Tzuyu agreed and the two made their way back downstairs.

 

They settled together on the couch, Tzuyu curled up next to Jeongyeon who had one arm around her, the other busy with her phone. Nayeon had finished her skincare routine by now, shooting Jeongyeon a look and nodding towards Tzuyu. Jeongyeon mouthed an ‘I’ll tell you later’ which seemed to satisfy her as she nodded and went back to doing whatever she was doing.

 

“Thanks for making me feel better unnie” Tzuyu whispered, yawning after. Jeongyeon smiled softly.

 

“No need to thank me, you should get some rest” she said, ruffling Tzuyu’s hair slightly.

 

“Can I…sleep on you?” Jeongyeon giggled and nodded, changing how she was sitting to make it more comfortable for Tzuyu. 

 

“Sure, go ahead, I don’t mind, it might be a little noisy with the others here though”

 

“It’s okay I…like it that way” Jeongyeon squeezed Tzuyu’s arm reassuringly.

 

“I like it that way too”